1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a fitment which seats in the neck of a container and has openings through which the contents of the container can be dispensed.
2. Background Information
Containers for granular or powered products such as for example, spices, and for liquids such as salad dressing, vinegar, et cetera, are often provided with fitments seated in the neck of the container. The fitment has one or more apertures through which the product can be dispensed such as by sifting or shaking. Examples of such fitments are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,889,967 and 2,921,724. Such fitments typically have an end wall with a flange which seats on the rim of the container neck and a cylindrical skirt which extends into the container neck and expands radially outward to engage the inner surface of the neck where it flares outward into the container. For some products, it is desirable to provide a vacuum seal which seats on the container rim. Fitments having a flange which seats on the container rim interfere with such a vacuum seal.
The prior art fitments have either a continuous annular skirt or a skirt with very narrow axial slots dividing the skirt into tabs which subtend large circumferential angles. These configurations make the skirts very stiff. This requires close tolerances to assure a tight fit of the fitment in the container opening.
There are particular difficulties with the above described dispensing fitments for use with glass containers. It is very difficult to maintain tolerances on glass containers, and hence, most attention is directed to holding tolerances on the outer dimensions of the neck including the threads or bead for securing a container closure, and little attention is paid to the inner dimension except to set a minimum opening. Any dispensing fitment for glass containers must, therefore, have enough flexibility to accommodate for sizeable variations in dimensions of the opening while providing a tight fit and resistance to being sucked into a vacuum packed container.
It is an object of the invention to provide a container and dispensing fitment therefor which do not require tight manufacturing tolerances to assure that the fitment firmly seats in the container opening.
It is also an object of the invention provide such a container and dispensing fitment therefor which can be used with a vacuum seal which seats on the container rim.